No Way Without You
by fictionxvelvet
Summary: Austin and Ally's relationship takes a new turn one night after hours of dancing in the practice room. But when Austin regrets and Ally glows over this new step, their partnership and friendship is on the line. Will Ally find it in her to move on and continue writing songs for Austin, or will Austin learn of his feelings for Ally?
1. Chapter 1: The Right Mistake

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally or any of the characters. _**

**_This story is set after Ally has overcome her stage fright, but they haven't realized they like each other yet, and there is no Kira vs Ally drama either. _**

**_Enjoy!_**

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Chapter 1: The Right Mistake

Ally Dawson shuffled across their 'practice room' on the upper level of her dad's store. Outside, neither was there a moon nor was there any sign of stars. In light of Austin's Tween Choice Award win and Ally's successful performance at the award show, the gang had decided to celebrate, well, literally until dawn. They were all so excited within their celebration, none of them, much to Ally's luck, commented on her infamous dance. They laughed and cheered her on. Along with Ally, Austin, Trish and Dez, Austin's record producer Mr Starr, his daughter Kira, and his other personnel were dancing too.

As Skrillex's_ Make it Bum Dem_ finished on the iPod dock, Mr Starr, his daughter and the personnel had finally called it a night at 2am in the morning. Nonetheless the gang remained dancing like zombies with 70s disco lights everywhere about the room. Ally quickly busted her move again, then Austin shook his head vigorously and jumped in front of her. Ally responded and the pair danced without hesitance. It had only been a minute before Austin and Ally turned to see Trish staring blankly into space and a very sleepy Dez snoozing on her shoulder. Ally laughed at her goofy friend. Austin shook his head.

"Dez? Dez? Wake up …" he tried patiently, shaking his friend's shoulder. When he only responded with a loud snore, Austin shook him violently.

"Dez! Wake up!" he yelled. Dez rose rather abruptly from Trish's shoulder and stared blankly into space, obviously sleepy. Trish stared at him with question in her eyes.

"Dez, maybe you should go home now too." Ally suggested gently.

"I'm not sleepy." He replied flatly, still staring dully into space without blinking. Intrigued by this, Austin moved closer to Dez's face and stared into his left eyeball very closely, but Dez wouldn't blink. Instead, he collapsed onto Austin's shoulder and Austin caught him just in time.

"Alright, I think I'm gonna have to take Dez home." Austin announced, holding onto his best friend.

"No, no. You guys keep celebrating. I'll take the zombie home …" Trish offered, taking Dez's weight from Austin's shoulder. Austin and Ally looked questionably at Trish, wondering about her sudden kindness toward Dez.

"Wow, Trish. That's awfully generous of you," Ally observed, smirking and moving closer to Austin.

"Hey, Austin won a Tween Choice, and you performed _amazingly_ tonight … plus I kind of want to experiment with Dez's face when I put him to bed." Trish explained cheekily. Ally shook her head and Austin nodded approvingly.

"Night you two." Trish called, heading for the stairs. They both called 'night' after her, and as soon as she was gone, Austin turned up the music again.

"I hope this won't be your only award." Ally said to him and Austin moved from the iPod dock. Austin shook his head surely.

"Not a chance. As long as you're there with me, I know we're heading for the top." Austin assured Ally. He looked at the ground before he looked at Ally again.

"Look Ally, I know I have said this before, but I am seriously so proud of you. Your performance was so awesome tonight. As long as we stick together, I think we're invincible." He said warmly. Ally smiled warmly, and Austin smiled back.

"Thank you so much, Austin. I'm so glad I finally did … you're right. Together, we're like, unstoppable." She said with a large grin. Austin grinned and started bopping his head to the music again.

Then, Ally broke out into dance and followed Austin's moves in the best way she could, hoping she looked slightly the same. Austin laughed at her, which made Ally pout.

"I'm sorry but …" Austin apologized between laughs, kneeling toward the ground. Ally, also finding it a little humorous, shook her head and continuously smacked him across his back as he kept laughing, which incidentally only made him laugh more. He rose up surrendering and Ally punched him in the arm.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Here, let me make it up to you." He offered. And with that, Austin broke out into Ally's classic dance move, which only made Ally grin widely.

"Hey you're pretty good!" Ally commented as she joined him, and they continued dancing for a few more minutes. The song had changed to Justin Timberlake's_ Lovestoned_, and Ally suddenly became a little dizzy, unsure of where or what was happening. All she knew was that she had to keep dancing. It was like living in the dead dancer's body.

Due to her drowsiness, she bumped into Austin, who was also looking slightly fatigued. Their noses and foreheads bumped into one another.

"Ah! I'm so sorry Austin …" she said half-heartedly. Austin barely moved his face, and slowly rocked toward Ally's face again. Ally drowsily rocked too, which only left their lips inches apart from one another. By this time, the song's interlude _I Think That She Knows _had begun, and Austin and Ally were struggling to distance themselves away from one another.

Ally was of course very tired, but she didn't have it in her to part herself from this new closeness with Austin. It was very strange, him being her best friend over the past year and all, but a part of her was enjoying this nearness with him. She enjoyed it so much that she leaned her head on Austin's chest and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him. Austin was unsure of how to respond at first, but then he wrapped his arms around her waist too and leaned his cheek on the top of her head.

They rocked back and forth then, the colourful lights still prancing around the entire room, and the soft Justin Timberlake music soothing the atmosphere. Soon, Ally slowly moved away from Austin's chest, but continued holding him closely, and Austin did the same. She stared into him rather than his eyes, but Austin stared down into Ally's lowered eyelids. A little caught in the moment, he brushed some hair away from her face, which prompted her to stare intently back up at him. He held her face gently, and Ally, aware of what was about to happen, slowly closed her eyes.

Austin leaned forward, and so did she, and soon, their lips finally found each other. Ally was unsure of her feelings about this kiss, whether kissing Austin was the right decision, what this would do their relationship, and why she had this incredible urge to kiss him again.

And so she did, quickly. They took turns kissing each other quickly, but finally, Austin refused to let go of her lips and moved his tongue with hers for a few moments. Ally suddenly felt very dizzy. The movements were only becoming faster and faster, and as she continued to kiss him, everything else in the room was somehow unimportant; hazy, blurry and blank.

"Hahhh …" Ally managed to get out as Austin bumped his head into hers.

"You may not be the best dancer but you're pretty good at that." Austin said, making Ally blush.

"You're pretty good too … Austin, does this …." She began to say, but Austin shut her up by kissing her again. Ally kissed back, which only made Austin deepen the kiss until Ally was suddenly very aware of where his hands were. She breathed heavily, as his hands suddenly placed on top of her own, and slowly pulled her with him. Ally suddenly felt very special, as he pulled her in for another kiss. He let go again, and sat down on the couch.

"Come here." He said, looking at only the hands he was holding. Ally leaned down and sat on top of him, kissing him again, deep and slow. As Austin reached for the zip on the back of her dress, Ally immediately stopped kissing him.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Ally looked down.

"Do you really want to do this?" she asked quietly. Austin barely heard her, he just kissed her again instead of answering her question. Ally kissed him back, convinced that he did.

Soon she found herself lying on the red couch, with Austin on top of her, kissing softly, quickly and passionately. She felt Austin's warm bare skin against hers, and as she recalled moments of passion, enjoyment, pleasure and also pain, Ally knew, when he fell asleep on the other side of her, that this was the happiest moment of her life.

She woke up briefly while it was still dark, smiling to herself as she recalled his touch. She glanced behind her to see Austin sleeping like a young baby, and she quickly kissed the corner of his mouth before falling back to sleep.

Austin woke to her brief peck after she had turned, staring at the back of Ally's head. He thought regretfully of what he had done, what this would do to their professional and personal relationship, and how it would affect the coming days. _It was a mistake_, he thought. _I'm sure Ally feels the same way and we can go back to just being good friends_.

He closed his eyes again and they slept throughout the rest of the night.

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**_What did you think? Leave reviews! :)_**


	2. Chapter 2: Pancakes for Two

_**Thank you so much for the reviews! My story is pretty much written out already, I just have to come up with a good ending. **_

_**How often would you like me to update chapters? Leave reviews and tell me what you think! **_

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Chapter 2: Pancakes for Two

When the sun shone through the window, Ally was the first to wake up and put her clothes back on. The lights still danced around the room, and so she turned them off, letting Austin sleep. She went to the bathroom and washed her face, then, when she finished wiping her face with a cloth, she looked at herself in the mirror. Shyly, she smiled. Then, unable to keep it in her any longer, she grinned brightly at herself in the mirror, and covered her face with the cloth again. She felt as if the sun was glowing right onto her, and that was how it was meant to be. When she returned to the room, Austin was zipping up his pants, the last bit of clothing for him. Ally slowly broke into a smile as he came to eye contact with her.

"Good morning," she said warmly. Austin tried to be as normal as possible and broke into a grin.

"Morning!" he replied cheerfully, but rather nervously. Ally continued smiling and headed for the door.

"What do you want for breakfast, dear?" she asked naturally. Austin mouthed 'dear' questionably to himself, wondering about this newfound maturity and warmth.

"Uh, anything I guess …" he replied shakily. Ally turned briefly in the doorway to look at him.

"I think it's definitely pancakes for my favourite pop star," she decided with a smile, locking her arm in his. Austin nervously followed her down the stairs and through to the food court.

He couldn't believe that Ally had not found what they did a mistake. Did it not bother her that all of their hard work and friendship was on the line? That a relationship could threaten all of that? How would he break it to her without breaking her heart? He had to make her see that this relationship would ruin everything, but how?

At the pancake parlour, Ally had moved her chair closer to Austin's as they both ate their pancakes quietly, and with a smile here and there.

"Guess who got a job at the pancake parlour?" a very familiar voice asked behind them. Austin and Ally turned around and saw Trish with a fake half-eaten pancake hat on her head, and wearing the mandatory uniform. Ally giggled.

"Trish, you got a job this morning? How? We were up so late last night." Ally reminded her, brushing her leg against Austin's. Austin tried to make himself believe that it was an accident.

"Yeah – that's why I already hate it. But since its pancakes, I couldn't say no … what with our award winner right here." Trish pointed to Austin. Austin, a little absent, only noticed that Trish was talking about him when there was silence at the table.

"Austin?" Trish prompted. Austin snapped out of it and looked at Trish.

"Yeah, thanks Trish. I love these pancakes," he said, wolfing down a piece and smiling widely. Ally and Trish stared at him questionably as Dez walked up to the group.

"Morning alllllllllllll - " Dez sang to them. When they turned to Dez, Ally and Trish burst into laughter. Ally pointed at Dez's face and Trish admired her work. Austin looked up and saw that Dez had pink blusher on his cheeks, and a thick black moustache drawn across his upper lip.

"What?" he asked, smiling as if waiting for a new joke to be told. Ally motioned her finger around her upper lip to break it to Dez, but Dez didn't pick that up very quickly. He shook his finger toward Ally.

"You know everyone has been doing the exact thing to me this morning … including my mom." Dez said, shaking his head.

"And you still haven't decided to look at your face?" Austin asked. Dez quickly felt his face, but feeling nothing he shrugged his shoulders. Trish gave in with a sigh and held her blank phone up to Dez's face and he finally saw what was wrong. Strangely, a satisfied smile appeared on Dez's lips.

"Hey, I look good. I didn't know I could grow a moustache …" he said, stroking his upper lip. Trish gawked at him unbelievably.

"Dez! It's been drawn on with black marker!" she declared. Dez stopped stroking his upper lip and glanced over at Trish. Then he shrugged it off and laughed.

"Nah, you're just jealous." And with that, Dez almost strutted off and showed off his fake moustache. Trish stared blankly after him and shook her head. She turned to see Ally staring lovingly at Austin, and Austin looking nervously toward the table. Trish grew into a beam.

"What's going on here? Did something happen last night after we left?" Trish asked with a cheeky smile. Ally turned from Austin and slowly nodded to Trish. Austin looked up nervously, unsure of whether to deny it like he so desired, but he knew doing so would make Ally upset.

"No way, this is so cute! I knew this was coming! You two are going to be a great couple in the music world," Trish beamed. Ally laughed briefly.

"I know," she said proudly. Trish quickly sat down and stared intently at the two of them, cupping her face between her hands.

"So, how did it happen?" she asked. Ally went to answer, but she was interrupted by a round woman walking closer toward their table. She was wearing a similar uniform to Trish, and obviously unimpressed.

"What are you doing Trish? Sitting down on the job? Do you want to get fired on your very first day?" she challenged from behind her. Trish turned to the round woman, her boss and smiled.

"You mean it?" she asked happily, still sitting. The woman pointed her finger to the other customers.

"Trying to play smart, eh? Get back to work!" she said yelled rather loudly, making Trish hop out of her seat while Austin and Ally jumped in their seats. The woman grunted and stormed off. Trish shook her head and turned back to the would-be couple.

"Well, I guess I better leave you two alone then." She said with a sly smile and heading back to the front desk. They both waved her off and Ally slowly turned to Austin, an innocent smile appearing on her face. Austin smiled back nervously. He noticed how Ally had this new glow about her appearance. Her smile had become almost like the sun itself, which worried Austin terribly. Now it would be harder to tell Ally the truth about how he felt.

"Are you enjoying your pancakes?" she asked gently. Austin remembered the pancakes sitting in front of him. They tasted great, but Austin had difficulty enjoying them due to the large lump in his stomach. He forced himself to cut a piece and shove it down his throat.

"Delicious," he choked while his mouth was still full. Ally didn't squirm like she would normally, Austin realised. Instead, she smiled at him like he was her first teddy bear. Austin recalled how she had called him 'dear' earlier that morning. He wasn't sure whether he liked this new respect he was receiving from Ally … too much was changing too fast, and Austin was not ready for such a change.

At that moment, Austin's phone buzzed with a text message. Austin quickly gulped down the last bit of his pancakes before checking the message.

"Dez wants to meet me now, it seems pretty urgent …" he said aloud, hoping that Ally would let him go. He looked up after he had trailed off, and Ally nodded understandingly.

"Okay, I'll see you later dear." She said warmly, touching his hand as he got up from his seat. Austin dreaded hearing 'dear' again, but he falsely smiled and scurried off.

Ally watched him leave, unable to blink as she watched him run off into the mall. She sighed dreamily, and picked up her bag to leave. As she walked back to Sonic Boom, she couldn't help but smile and adore everything she saw in sight, she even skipped a little bit before she entered the store. When she moved behind the register, she took out some files, but all the words seemed jumbled and unimportant. She laughed at herself and smacked the clipboard against her head with a laugh. She was so in love, and she had not been expecting it all.

In the mall midpoint, Dez sat at a table by himself, trying to rub off the pink blush from his cheeks. Austin walked up to him hurriedly and sat down with nerves written all over his face. Dez didn't acknowledge Austin right away, he just continued rubbing the pink blush.

"What is in this stuff?" he squealed, furiously rubbing at his face.

"You'll need a make-up removal tissue for that." Austin advised knowingly, then he suddenly turned confused.

"How do I know that?" he asked himself. Dez took in Austin's advice and rummaged through his back pack. Austin watched closely as Dez pulled out random item after random item and continuously muttered 'no' to himself as he placed each item on the table. Then he finally found the make-up removal tissues and smiled victoriously at it.

"Gotcha!" he said happily. Austin nodded sarcastically. Dez stared at the tissue packet then turned to Austin with a look of confusion.

"Why do I have this?" he asked. Austin dropped his jaw and let out a short laugh.

"Dez, why do you have _all _of this junk?" Austin pointed out, picking up an odd looking object and showing it to Dez. He then studied the object, trying to understand what it was.

"What is this anyway?" he asked, still looking at the peculiar object. Dez pointed his finger to the object, trying to place it in his memory.

"I'm not sure, but I found it underneath the sand … It could be treasure." He explained mysteriously. Austin was not convinced however, and lowered his eyelids at Dez. He tossed the object over his shoulder and Dez screamed, holding a fist to his mouth.

"You just threw away my fortune!" he wailed, burying his head in hands. Austin shook Dez's hands.

"Come on Dez … I've got a real problem …" Austin took in a deep breath before he went on. "I think Ally likes me." Austin broke in slowly. Dez immediately changed his expression and smiled mischievously.

"Alright, Austin!" he approved, holding up his hand for a high-five. Austin shook his head and brought Dez's hand back down.

"No, I mean … I think Ally likes me, but I don't like her like that. I don't want to ruin the perfectly good friendship that we have." Austin explained. Dez nodded as he spoke, his 'Dr Dez' side coming in to play.

"Well if you think Ally likes you, then just give her a reason to stop. I mean, it's not like you did anything to _make_ her like you … Like kiss her or something." Dez shrugged off, but then noticed the worried look on Austin's face.

"You kissed her!?" Dez yelled a little too loudly. Austin suddenly seemed very disappointed with himself.

"Yeah … but it's not just that …" Austin nodded his head off, hoping Dez would understand. Dez appeared disgusted and held his hands to his mouth as if holding back vomit.

"You kissed her on the mouth!?" he gathered. Austin opened his mouth, unable to believe his ears.

"Yes, but we did a little more than that …" Austin hinted again, but Dez tilted his back, very confused.

"What do you mean? What more can there be after kissing on the mouth?" Dez asked naively, taking a sip of his smoothie. Austin lightly smiled to himself, admiring Dez's innocence. Austin fell silent for a few moments while Dez thought, and when he lifted his mouth up from the straw, he slowly pointed at Austin.

"You jerk!" he pointed, disgusted at his friend.

"Dez, I didn't plan on it … it just sort of happened. But I don't know how I can tell Ally that I only like her as a friend." Austin said, trying to revive himself.

"If you don't like Ally, why did you let it go as far as it did?" Dez challenged. Austin wasn't used to this type of interrogation from Dez.

"I don't know … I kind of sort of liked it." He muttered. Dez shook his head and took another sip of his smoothie.

"So you led her on, took her on a 'cruise'," Dez rolled his eyes, trying to cover up the words. "Now she's fallen in love with you, and you want nothing to happen?" Dez summarised. Austin stared blankly at Dez for a moment.

"I sound awful, don't I?" Austin gathered from Dez's expression. Dez smacked the table.

"Darn right you do, you jerk!" he stormed at his friend. Then, realising how loud and harsh he must have sounded, he calmed himself and took another sip of his smoothie. Austin nervously looked around.

"What are you gonna do now?" Dez asked casually. Austin shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, what should I do?" Austin asked.

"Tell her right now. You're better off breaking it to her now before breaking her heart later." Dez advised. Austin nodded.

"You're right. I'm gonna go talk to Ally." Austin declared, pushing his chair back. Even though Dez hadn't been invited, he immediately got up from his seat, still sipping his drink and followed Austin.

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_**So there you go! How accurate do you think I got the characters? :)**_


	3. Chapter 3: Flightless Butterflies

_**Last chapter concerning the morning after. **_

_**Please let me know what you think, I really appreciate reviews. :)**_

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Chapter 3: Flightless Butterflies

Ally dreamily went through the store's records, drawing hearts in the margins. She smiled as she remembered Austin's smile. To her joy, Austin appeared in front of her just as she looked up. Ally immediately flipped the records over and smiled at Austin.

"Hi Austin." She greeted warmly. Austin smiled at the corner of his mouth.

"Ally, we need to talk." Austin announced. Ally looked intently at him, waiting for him to speak, but they both suddenly became very aware of the loud slurps coming from behind Austin. They both turned to Dez, who didn't appear moved by their desire for privacy. Austin took Ally by her back and led her over to the seat near the entrance of the store. When they were both seated, Ally smiled at Austin yet again.

"So, what's on your mind?" she asked intently. Austin inhaled deeply.

"Ally, we never got around to talking about what happened last night …" Austin began.

"Yeah, it was amazing." Ally put in. Austin nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, really amazing. But do you really think you know, this, 'thing' between us would be a good idea?" Austin asked. Ally went to answer, but Austin didn't let her.

"Ally, you're like my best friend. And we're partners in the making of Team Austin. The last thing I want is for something to ruin what we have. So I just think that being friends and partners would be for the best, you know for our partnership. You know what I mean, right?" Austin blurted out. Ally couldn't believe her ears. On the one hand, she was hurt that Austin didn't feel the same way she did about what had happened, but on the other hand, she was becoming infuriated at the fact that he had led her on.

"Are you upset?" Austin asked quietly.

"Upset!?" Ally replied too quickly. She laughed nervously.

"Whaa-aattttt?" she said in her typical tone. Austin looked at her. "I was about to call you right now and say the same thing." She went on defensively, getting up from her seat. She felt as if someone was pulling at her hair to say it. To her anger, Austin smiled with relief.

"Wow, that's great, Ally. I'm so glad our little session didn't affect you as much as I thought it did. You had me really scared this morning." Austin said breezily. Ally continued to stare at him, muttering his choice of the word 'session' to describe the previous night.

It felt like there was a huge red fireball in Ally's stomach, but it suddenly turned dark, cold … and soon it dissolved. While she was so angry at Austin, she couldn't help but feel truly hurt and crushed as she watched him smile so freely.

"I knew you wouldn't let something like this get to you. Wow, I'm glad that's over. No hard feelings, huh?" Austin offered his embrace, and Ally stared at his arms for a moment. She breathed slowly and hugged him stiffly. Austin smiled, but Ally's grimace was unbeknownst to him. When he let go, Ally falsely smiled as he began to leave. As he headed for the door, Ally walked behind him, and Austin turned briefly and flashed his classic Austin smile.

"I'll see you later, okay?" he said.

"Not if I see you first!" Ally replied, slightly shaky in the voice and trying hard to hide how she felt. Austin nodded and waved briefly at her. After he was out of sight, Ally found herself trying to contemplate her own luck.

At just 17, Ally had never experienced love, but the night before, she couldn't imagine it feeling any less than that. The glow that she had briefly received from this ill-fated 'love' now made her want to vomit. In her mind, it made sense that the matter that had formed in her stomach, was now travelling back up to her mouth. Those butterflies, those pink paper hearts she had imagined, rising back up to release, to escape.

She quickly ran to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet bowl, her mind thinking she was releasing every last bit of feeling she had felt for Austin. It was over quickly. Too quickly, in Ally's opinion. She flushed the toilet quickly, washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror. She recalled the morning, where she felt the sun kiss her skin, and how perfect it had felt. Now, the sun was near to her chest, and the warmth of it sickened her. As she looked at her reflection, she threw water at it angrily, and started to sob. It was over. This was it.

She sank to the bathroom floor, leaned up against the wall, sunk her face between her hands and sobbed.

Half an hour later, Ally washed her face again and reapplied some mascara. She had decided it was silly and pathetic to be crying over Austin. It was unknown to her now whether what she had felt was really love, or just happiness from experiencing a different type of closeness with another person. Austin was merely just an experience – she tried to tell herself. She practiced smiling before she left, and practically sprinted down the stairs back to the store.

She straightened out some merchandise, and heard customers coming into the store. She looked up, and smiled. She should have known it would have been Trish.

"Hey Ally, you'll never guess what I just did!" she exclaimed as she approached Ally, still wearing the quirky pancake hat. Ally went to open her mouth, but Trish cut her off.

"I got Austin a spot on Miami Request Live! Now all we have to do is get a new song before the big day!" she explained with a huge grin. Ally lightly smiled as she looked at Trish.

"Wow, that's great Trish." She said shakily. Trish looked at her with concern.

"Hey, I thought you'd be happy! After all, he's your boyfriend now, right?" Trish prompted. Ally looked toward the ground, picked up a few magazines and moved over to the seats near the entrance.

"Not anymore." She exhaled, placing the magazines on the end table. Trish walked over to her, completely puzzled.

"What do you mean, 'not anymore'?" she charged.

"Austin feels that a relationship would jeopardize his career. Apparently last night means nothing whatsoever to him." Ally said flatly.

"And how do you feel about it?" Trish asked. Ally shrugged her shoulders.

"What does it matter how I feel? Austin made the decision last night, and he made it this morning too." She replied, sitting down. Trish followed her and sat down beside her.

"Ally, what happened between you two last night?" Trish asked. Ally realised she hadn't yet told Trish about what happened.

"Well, we were dancing, and suddenly he kissed me. Next thing I knew, we were lying on the couch, asleep, together." Ally explained as detail-free as possible.

"So he kissed you, he led you on, and now he's running away from this just because of his career?" she gathered. Ally shook her head and looked at the ground.

"It's my fault. I let myself fall head over heels for him too quickly. He got scared and that's why he was so quiet this morning. I feel like such an idiot!" she broke down, burying her face between her hands. Trish rubbed her back gently, as Ally fought violently against the tears.

"I can't be like this … I can't let my feelings cloud my responsibility in Austin's career." Ally said with a sniffle. Trish went to reply, but two familiar faces entered the store at that moment. Ally quickly wiped her face just in case she had cried, to her luck she hadn't, and stood up to greet them.

"Hey guys." She said casually.

"Hey, so what's up?" Austin asked. Trish came to Ally's rescue.

"I booked you in for a performance on MRL next week." Trish said with a smile. Austin gave a typical Austin excited face, and mouthed 'awesome', high fiving Dez.

"This is gonna be great! Ally, do you think we could work on a new song together?" he asked casually.

"I'll have to check when I've got a spare moment …" Ally took her songbook from beneath the counter and looked through her calendar. She always made time for Austin, but she had to think of something to keep from spending time with him.

"So, I think we should upload a new video to the Austin Moon channel, we haven't done that in a while!" Dez said colourfully.

"Yeah, that sounds great! I'm sure Ally and I can write an amazing song together." Austin replied assuredly. Ally shook her head looking at her blank calendar. Act like you've never acted before, Ally thought to herself.

"Hey, Austin, I don't think I have enough spare time to write the song with you. I'll have to do it between all of my other work …" Ally drifted off.

"But I wanna write it with you." Austin protested. Ally swallowed hard, turning to look back down at her songbook.

"Don't worry, I'll have the song ready for you by the big day." Ally assured him with a nod. Austin looked disappointed, and almost looked at her calendar, but Ally shut it casually, trying to hide the fact that she was hiding it from him in the best way possible. She doubted her acting skills, but it would have to do. She imagined writing with Austin now, and it pained her. Being in the same room, alone, and writing songs. It had always felt slightly more than two friends just hanging out, and now, considering what had happened, everything would just be awkward. For her, at least.

"Well, if you're really that busy …" Austin drifted off, disappointed. Ally shook her head and took a peek back at her empty calendar.

"Just, let me know if I can help at all, if you need it." Austin offered. Ally nodded casually with a meek smile.

Ally sighed as he left, and he waved back at her, and she waved back once. As he left, Trish approached Ally behind the counter.

"Are you okay?" Trish asked. Ally began to nod but stopped.

"Yeah …. No. I'm not. I don't know how I can cope being around Austin anymore." Ally fretted, shaking her head. Trish placed a hand on Ally's back, and Ally looked at her.

"Thanks, Trish. I know I can always count on you when I'm feeling down." Ally said gratefully. Trish smiled.

"Eh, I'm already way past my lunch break. At this point I'll have time for you sooner than you think." Trish said with a typical grin, making Ally laugh and shake her head.

"I better get to work on the new song – it's gonna be harder than ever now." Ally said, taking her songbook and waving Trish off as she headed to the practice room.

"I'll catch up with you later then." Trish called, heading for the door.

Ally climbed the stairs and opened the door to the practice room, looking around, still seeing the disco lights set up. She looked over at the couch, and saw herself lying in front of Austin's bare body, and herself with a huge smile on her face. Ally's lip quivered as she remembered, and tried to overlook it by heading to the piano – neutral territory.

She placed her songbook on the stand and began to play as she let her mind free. A melody came, but she couldn't think of any words. She remembered the numerous times where she would think of lyrics, and Austin would disregard them and replace them with something more fun and joyful. She imagined them both playing on the piano, and how their hands would touch every now and then.

She shook her head violently and tried thinking ahead of herself. Soon, all she could do was sit on a chair lean her head against a cushion, barely thinking of anything but the previous night.

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_**I hope I didn't make Austin seem too heartless ... but hopefully you can understand his perspective too. **_


	4. Chapter 4: A Shift in Tune

_**This chapter is really short, but I will update with a new chapter sooner than you think! **_

_**Thanks for all the lovely reviews :) **_

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Chapter 4: A Shift in Tune

It had been a few days since the night, and Ally had tried at all costs to avoid speaking with Austin. Austin however, was completely oblivious to the matter, having no subconscious to desire to believe that something was wrong between the two of them. The MRL gig would be in a couple of days.

"Hey Ally," Dez called as the two boys walked into the store. Ally looked up and smiled at the two of them.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Ally asked casually. Dez flicked his hair from the right to the left and gazed at Ally. Ally widened her eyes.

"Just trying to come up with the biggest music video yet … to a song we don't currently have." Dez said dramatically. Ally went to open her mouth but Austin interrupted and moved in front of Dez.

"Yeah, Ally. I haven't heard anything about the song yet, how's it coming?" Austin complained. Ally shifted her tongue to the top of her mouth.

"It's coming along fine." She said flatly, placing some sheets of paper beneath the counter. Austin raised his eyebrows and looked at Dez as she went down.

"Well, can I hear it?" he asked, but almost demanded. Ally was still down at this point, and saw her songbook near the papers. She tilted her head and retrieved the book, rising back up and blandly smiling as she placed it on the counter.

"Why don't I play it for you?" she offered, heading over to the grand piano. Austin looked at Dez, shrugged his shoulders and followed after her. Ally sat down on the bench and Austin leaned against the store counter, Dez standing next to him.

Ally began to play a ballad, it was barely like anything Austin ever sang before the public. It had a different type of emotion – not the type of loving feel his acoustic tunes had. Ally suddenly sped up her piano playing and it became two-toned, shifting between two notes before Ally began to sing.

[ the song basically entails a subtle description of what has happened between Austin and Ally, covering issues such as deceit and lies, but the meaning behind the song isn't easily graspable. ]

Austin looked at Dez doubtfully, worrying about the reaction a song like this would get. Ally suddenly stopped, but continued to look at the piano keys.

"That's all I have so far," she said, not looking at either of them.

"Wow. I am deeee-pressed." Dez chanted, his hands on his hips and staring off into the distance. Austin lightly laughed.

"Dez is right. This song is not me at all," Austin began, sitting down next to Ally. Ally uncomfortably shifted away from his closeness but Austin didn't notice.

"I thought you knew me well enough, Ally. I want my fans to dance and cheer with me in all of my songs – I don't like putting the audience in tears." Austin said, looking over the lyrics. Ally looked up at her songbook and realised he was right. There was no point in him singing songs about her sorrow.

"You're right … I'll go fix it." Ally said at a very low tone, not interested in looking at Austin. Austin frowned as she left, chasing after her and seeing her already at the first platform of the stairs.

"Wait, don't you want me to help?" Austin called after her. Ally took in a breath and looked at him, shaking her head.

"No, I can do it by myself." Ally said, commencing her climb on the stairs. Austin jumped on the first step of the stairs and looked up at Ally.

"But Ally, we're a team. We always do this together," Austin tried to remind her. Ally sighed and held the railing.

"Sometimes I work better by myself. I did it before, and I'll do it again." Ally said coldly, not looking at the rejection on Austin's face as she ran up the stairs to the practice room, closing the door.

Austin recalled the first day he had met Ally, and how he had walked in on her writing by herself in the then store room. He didn't want her to be alone writing his songs – he wanted to be there with her.

Ally sat down on the piano bench and began adjusting the lyrics and melodies to match Austin's style. She knew the tune would probably be better if Austin were there, he always made everything more fun, but Ally couldn't risk being alone with him. It was hard to choke back the feelings she had for him.

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_**The next chapter should be up soon. Stay updated and keep the reviews coming! :D**_


	5. Chapter 5: Performances & Partnerships

_**Thanks so much for all of the reviews! This is one of my favourite chapters so far. Hope you like it! **_

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Chapter 5: Performances & Partnerships

Austin, Dez and Trish came into Sonic Boom, dressed up for the MRL show, and saw Ally sitting on the seats near the entrance. She was holding a sheet of music in her hands, also dressed up for the show.

"Hey, did you finish it?" Austin asked as Ally got up.

"Yup, I think you'll like it more this time." Ally said, handing him the paper. Austin took it and looked at the title, 'One Night.' He skimmed through the lyrics:

[ The song is about a night filled with fun, dancing and love, and how the night is all 'we' have to enjoy our lives, so nothing can stop them. ] Austin grinned from ear to ear.

"The song sounds great, thanks Ally." Austin thanked her, pulling her in for a familiar hug, but Ally barely held him, she just laughed and left her arms hanging.

"Come on, let's wow America!" Trish exclaimed heading for the door.

"Oh, we're gonna do more than that – we're going to _blow their minds_!" Dez put in, Trish frowning at him and walking out. They all followed close behind, but Austin stopped in front of Ally as Trish and Dez kept walking. Ally was caught off guard and looked at Austin.

"Ally, I'm really glad you could write this song for me, but I don't want you doing it by yourself anymore. I want us to do it together all the time, promise?" he requested.

"Um, yeah sure. Come on, we're gonna be late." Ally said, not taking his hand and instead pushing his back with her fingers. Austin squint his eyes and ran after their two friends.

The music show was on full blast by the time Austin's performance was finished. The crowd cheered him on and a bunch of the music show's reporters pulled him over to the couches where fans stood around them.

"Austin Moon, that was amazing! Tell us, what gets you so psyched up about performing?" one of the boys asked. Austin held the MRL microphone to his mouth and lifted his hand up in the air.

"A lot of things get me really excited about performing. I have some amazing fans – (audience cheers) and I have my best friends supporting me all the time. Without them I wouldn't be here today." (audience 'awws') he replied. He looked over at Trish, Dez and Ally who were sitting on the stands as opposed to the fans crowded around the star.

"So one of these closest friends is Ally, I hear. She's your songwriter, right?" a girl asked him.

"Yeah, we come up with ideas, write songs and I think we just really understand each other." Austin replied. Ally looked at the ground. Things weren't the same anymore though. Yes, they once understood each other like best friends, they helped each other, wrote together. But things were different now. And there was no way Ally could simply forget about what had changed between them.

"Well, we hope your career keeps soaring to the sky as we see more of you in the future. Let's give it up one more time for Austin Moon!" another girl exclaimed to initiate a crowd roar. They all cheered and Ally clapped as well. Austin waved around the stands and the fans standing around him.

Trish, Dez and Austin all hovered over the snacks table before they left, taking some finger sandwiches and other tiny foods. Ally sat on a seat by the door as they ate, and a man came through the door and looked at Ally.

"Hey, you work with Austin, right? Ally Dawson, the songwriter?" he prompted, as Ally stood up.

"Yeah, that's me." She said with a smile. He grinned and pulled an envelope out of the folder he was carrying.

"This is from the MRL crew, it's a performance royalty for the both of you." He said.

"Oh, you don't have to pay me -" she protested, but the man shook his head.

"Take it, you deserve it." He insisted, shoving the envelope in front of her. Ally smiled and took it from his hand.

"Thanks," she said with a smile. The man smiled back and hurried down the hall. Ally sat down and opened the envelope. She saw a pay cheque for a decent amount of money, and a note attached to it. She unfolded the note and saw a short message written in black marker:

Thanks for making today's show great.

You two make a great team. :)

Ally's heart pounded fast in her chest as she read it again, then she looked weary as she turned away from it. Austin approached Ally on the seat, placing his hands in his back pockets.

"Hey, you ready to go?" he asked. Ally looked past Austin's stomach, and handed him the envelope as she grabbed her bag and started to get up.

"I can't be your songwriter anymore." She mumbled. Austin barely heard her and leaned down.

"What?" he asked. Ally looked at him straight in the eye after a good week of trying to avoid noticing the deep shade of brown that they were.

"I don't want to be your partner anymore. I'm done." She said clearly. Austin's heart practically jumped out of his chest.

"What - What are you talking about? Ally …" he began, touching her shoulder with his finger. Ally squirmed away from him.

"Don't touch me." She muttered, beginning to walk away. Trish and Dez looked up to see Austin beginning to follow her.

"What is your problem? You've been acting weird all week and I want to know why you can't just come right out and tell -" Austin started again, walking after her but Ally stopped and looked up into his eyes again. This was it. She was going to say everything she had been feeling.

"You want to know why? Let me use the phrase you did. What was it again? _Session_." she exclaimed, widening her eyes. Austin lifted his head back.

"Oh, so that's what this is all about. You're really going to blame me for that? Listen, there were two people there that night, you were the one who fell on me -" he said.

"I would have been fine with just a kiss! We _slept together_, Austin. You led me on to believe there was more between us than just a partnership. I don't understand why you aren't taking this seriously." She said, looking away. Austin shook his head.

"I thought we agreed that it would be for the best to forget about what happened!" He challenged. Ally shook her head once and looked at him.

"_We_ didn't. You did. You completely ignored how I was falling head over heels for you." She retaliated.

"I didn't want to ruin our partnership! I can't believe you're going to throw away everything we've achieved because of a little mistake." Austin said. Ally nearly choked back the tears that were coming from her eyes.

"Mistake? First session, now it's a mistake? Austin, I'm sorry. But I just – I just can't do this anymore …" Ally said, trying to walk away.

"Ally, don't do this. You're going to ruin the team." Austin tried to stop her. Ally looked back over her shoulder.

"You already did." she said. Austin stepped back, but as she kept walking, he jumped a little in her track.

"Fine! I don't need you, I can write for myself! I'll show you what Austin Moon is really made of!" he exclaimed after her. Dez held Austin by the shoulder.

"And what's that?" he asked. Being his best friend, this didn't scare Austin at all.

"_Dez_ …." He said forcefully. Dez widened his eyes and headed back to the table, as Trish approached Austin.

"Are you sure it could never work out with you and Ally?" she asked genuinely. Austin shook his head.

"I just don't see how it would work. We are so different. And right now, all I want to focus on is my music." He explained. Trish seemed disappointed, and walked away in the direction Ally had headed. Austin looked over at Dez.

"Dez, how am I going to make it to the big time without Ally?" he asked. Dez placed his hand on Austin's shoulder.

"Don't worry, buddy. I will help you," he said comfortingly. Austin smiled at the corner of his mouth.

"And if your music career doesn't work out, you can always be my assistant when I become a director." He added, making Austin widen his eyes.

"Okay, we'll call that plan … M." he said. Dez nodded and they both headed out of the building.

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_**So there you go! What did you think of the fight? Leave reviews! **_


	6. Chapter 6: Tackling the Opposition

_**Imagine what would happen if Austin and Ally stopped working together ... **_

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Chapter 6: Tackling the Opposition

Ally helped her new student at the piano and smiled as he played. He didn't play very well, but Ally just kept encouraging him. He was slightly taller than Ally, her age as well, with a tan complexion and black hair.

"You're doing really well, Jeremy." Ally complimented, as he smiled at her.

"Yeah well, you're an amazing teacher, Ally. I'm glad I decided to take lessons from you." He said warmly, getting up from the piano bench.

"Wow, thanks." She said, walking behind the counter. Jeremy followed her and leaned his elbows on the bench top.

"Hey, maybe you can show me some of your songs some time?" he suggested with a light grin. Ally broke into a smile.

"Yeah, maybe. Um, I'll see you next week, okay?" she said, waving him off. He just kept smiling and walked out of the store. Trish and Dez came in as he left and approached the counter.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Trish asked Ally. Ally shifted her eyes at Trish.

"What makes you think I wouldn't be holding up well?" she challenged. Ally placed a guitar pick in the pencil holder and a pencil in the guitar pick jar. Trish raised her eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing. You just seem a little out of line." She said. Ally laughed defensively.

"I am _not_ out of line." She defended herself. Ally placed a pen in a customer's bag and the merchandise in the cash register. Ally raised her eyebrows knowingly at Trish.

"Not being partners with Austin has really put my life back in swing. I mean, I'm doing the things I didn't have time for before I met him. Like … my _cloud watching_ club … the _book_ club and even the time management club." Ally insisted. Trish pressed her lips together.

"Wow, your life sounds _boring_." Dez commented. Ally tilted her head at Dez.

"It's not like I've cut music out of my life completely, I _am _starting a career on my own, you know. Look, I've even been working on a song for myself." She said, taking out her songbook.

"You're a flyyy. Like the fly on my bug swatter. I wish I could take you out to the dumpsterrr. Flyyy flyy flyyyy …." She sang, bopping her head and swaying to her own voice.

"What do you think?" she asked proudly. Dez breathed in with his teeth.

"Yeah, that is the worst song _ever_." He said. Ally tilted her head.

"Okay, so it's not the best song I've ever written. Look, I know you guys don't want to believe it but, being away from Austin is really good for me." Ally insisted. She took a triangle from beneath the counter and put on her gloves, starting to clean it with a toothbrush. Trish rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you can really catch up on some things now." She commented sarcastically. Ally nodded agreeably.

* * *

Austin sat in the mall food court and continuously crossed out lyrics as he wrote them. By the time Trish and Dez had approached him, his page was completely filled with black lines.

"Song writing going well?" Dez asked genuinely. Austin narrowed his eyes at Dez and ran his hand up his forehead and through his fringe. Trish sat down on the seat across from him.

"Austin, if you just apologize to Ally, I'm sure you guys can work this out. I mean, let's face it. You're a _terrible_ songwriter on your own." Trish said with a lack of concern for his feelings on her face. Austin looked from her to Dez.

"I don't have to apologize. What, she's just going to hate me because I don't feel the same way she does about me? That's not my fault." Austin defended himself. Trish sighed and turned to a look of agreement on her face.

"Besides, the last thing I want is to see her right now." Austin said.

At that moment Ally approached the fast food counter and purchased a tray of French fries, a few metres away from them. Dez saw her.

"Ally! Hey _Ally_! Over here!" he practically yelled even though she was so close. Austin threw his hands in mid-air and looked from Dez to Trish. Ally squinted at Dez but before she could run away Trish dragged her over to the table.

"Come on you guys. You two have been the best partners and friends ever for the past two years. Don't you miss each other?" Trish asked as she brought Ally in front of Austin. Ally did all she could not to look at him.

"No!"

"No." They both replied at different times.

"Okay I was just asking." Trish replied defensively. Dez came between the two of them.

"Look, all we have to do is approach our inner souls … if we just look inside ourselves we can all get along just -" Dez began, trying to breathe in carefully.

"I don't want to!" Austin cried.

"No." Ally repeated. Dez placed his hands on both their shoulders.

"I get it. Too stubborn to even conquer your own anger – but you just need to find it in yourself to overcome -" he started again.

"No!" they both cried again.

"Okay fine, stay mad at each other! See if I care!" Dez cried, leaning into Trish's shoulder. Trish shook her head and opened her mouth.

"Why can't you both just settle your differences … for Austin's career's sake, at least?" Trish suggested. Ally laughed wryly.

"Oh, Austin, Austin, Austin! All I've ever done is write songs for him – tell him that he's grown up enough to write for himself." Ally said, crossing her arms.

"Well, you can tell _her_ that I'm already writing my own songs, and they're awesome." Austin jumped in as he looked at Trish.

"Well, you can tell him that people are not gonna go for a song about pancakes and Zaliens." Ally choked. Trish raised her eyebrow.

"What, and they'll accept one about flies and dumpsters?" Trish said sarcastically. Ally turned pale and Austin burst into laughter.

"Oh, that is so pathetic." Austin said. Ally glared at him from behind, and lifted his drink from the table and spilled it down his shirt – making him scream. Ally had an evil look on her face as she strutted away satisfied. Austin turned after her.

"You'll see! I'll prove that I _can_ make it without you!" he yelled, trying to shake out the cold drink from his shirt.

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_**Shortish chapter, but thanks for reading my fanfic thus far guys! Keep leaving reviews! I love reading them :)**_


	7. Chapter 7: Fancy Seeing You

_**Sorry for the huge break! This chapter should be interesting for you though! :)**_

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Chapter 7: Fancy seeing You

It had been at least two and a half months since Austin and Ally's partnership had torn apart, and the only way Ally could know about Austin's career was the internet and the occasional old music video on the music channel. It seemed that Austin had released a couple of songs by himself, but none of them had garnered as much attraction as before.

Trish came in the practice room, seeing Ally packing things into a shoulder bag.

"Hey, you ready for your big meeting with Mr Peterson of Peterson Records?" Trish asked cheerfully. Ally looked up at Trish, slightly nervous but still smiling.

"I guess so. Thank you so much for setting this up for me, Trish. I know it must be hard managing both me and Austin now." Ally said genuinely. Trish smiled. Since Ally and Austin had broken their partnership, Trish had booked many meetings with record labels seeking to sign Ally after she had overcome her stage fright.

"Hey, best friends always come first." She assured Ally. Ally broke into a large smile and placed her bag strap on her shoulder.

"So, are you ready to go?" she asked, heading for the door. Trish breathed in and turned to Ally who almost placed her hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah, um, that's what I came over to talk to you about. I can't come with you today, my mum is making me babysit my little brother and I can't get out of it." She explained. Ally looked doubtfully at her.

"How can I go to an interview by myself? I can't do this on my own!" Ally complained, crossing her arms.

"You'll be fine Ally," Trish assured her, placing her hand on Ally's arm. "Just try to be confident. He'll love you." Trish said, pushing her out the door. Ally sighed reluctantly.

"I guess … I'll see you later then." Ally farewelled, heading out the door.

* * *

The office Ally entered into was too large for words. She entered the reception and was told to sit down in the lobby while she would wait to be escorted to the meeting.

She smiled as she saw the large lobby through the hallway, and went to sit down. But before she did, she noticed a head of beach blonde locks sitting on a couch, flipping through a musicians' magazine and wanted with all her heart for it not to be true. When he turned to the side Ally's hope was ill-fated. It was indeed, Austin Moon.

When he caught a glimpse of Ally's figure, he jumped up and pointed at her with his hand.

"What the heck are you doing here?" he yelled across the room. Ally turned away from him.

"I could say the same for you, but I have a business meeting to attend. Something mature grown-ups do. But, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Ally pursed her lips together. Austin raised his eyebrow and chuckled.

"Actually I do cause so am I." he retaliated, straightening out his sleeves. Ally grimaced and turned away from him, only to see a well-dressed lady come out of the hallway and look at both of them.

"Austin Moon and Ally Dawson? Mr Peterson will see you now." She said, gesturing for them to follow her. Austin and Ally both went to protest.

"Excuse me, I think there's been a mistake. Our appointments were made separately." Ally dissented. The girl shook her head.

"No there hasn't been a mistake. Come with me, please." She said, heading back in the left direction. Austin pouted but when Ally looked at him he sarcastically gestured for her to go first with a fake grin. Ally stormed past him and followed in the girl's footsteps, with Austin trailing behind.

They came into a large room and saw a man sitting at a desk on the phone. The girl gestured for them to sit on the seats in front of the desk. They both sat down and uncomfortably waited for him to finish his conversation. When he finally got off, Ally opened her mouth immediately.

"Mr Peterson, I think you've made a mistake. He and I aren't partners anymore, I write by myself now." She said. Austin gawked at her.

"And I fly solo now too. I write my own songs." Austin added. Mr Peterson shook his head.

"No, I haven't made a mistake. I've been wanting to talk to you both for a while now. You two have created a sensation amongst today's pre-teens and even late teens. While I know Austin is already signed with Starr Records, I'd like to offer you a single opportunity for a decent sum of money, provided you both work together to come up with a hit." He offered. They both sat there, staring at him.

"I'm sorry sir but, that's out of the question. If you'd like I can write a song for your label, and I'd love to perform it for you too." Ally said confidently. Austin looked at her.

"I can perform any song you want, just so long as the song is written for me, but not by her …" Austin challenged. Mr Peterson shook his head. Austin looked over at Ally quickly who was looking in another direction.

"I can manage it without her, sir." Austin insisted. Mr Peterson chuckled and took hold of a folder on his desk, perhaps looking through some records.

"Is that so? Well, I happen to have some records of your career since you both have torn apart. It seems that your songs are nowhere near the Top 20 and you are less than famous these days." he challenged, looking at an embarrassed Austin. Ally pressed her lips together to avoid smiling.

"I can manage it by myself, sir." Ally said. Mr Peterson abruptly turned to the sound of her voice.

"Ally Dawson. From what my reports tell me, you have performed at numerous local gigs in Miami these past few months, hoping to get signed, but feedback tells me that your songs were not 'good, catchy, or finished'." He said, looking up at her. Austin breathed in through his teeth.

"Ouch." He commented, fighting back a laugh.

"Shut up." She said simultaneously. Mr Peterson looked at the two of them back and forth and threw his hands in mid-air.

"Look, if you can both come up with a hit song for me, I will offer you a record deal too." He offered finally, looking directly at Ally. Austin widened his eyes. While he knew Ally didn't want anything to do with him, Austin still cared about helping Ally with her new career.

They both remained silent for a moment, and while Ally looked at the ground, Austin looked at her. As she looked at him quickly, Austin almost saw a longing look in her eyes, ready to agree. Austin shifted in his chair to say yes, but was interrupted by Ally's voice.

"No." she said flatly. Austin bugged his eyes out at Ally's firm decision. Ally didn't look once at him. "I'm sorry we couldn't work something out, sir. It was nice meeting you." Ally said, getting up from her seat.

Austin looked from Ally to Mr Peterson regretfully, as he heard Ally's wedged heels heading for the door.

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_**So what do you think? I'm not getting many reviews and I'd really appreciate more if you want me to continue this story! :)**_


	8. Chapter 8: Truce

_**Thanks everyone for the suggestions and reviews! **_

_**Hope you enjoy this chapter :)**_

* * *

Chapter 8: Truce

Ally and Austin both sat on tables next to each in the mall food court, both sulking and facing a direction away from each other. Trish and Dez came in and saw the situation. Trish rolled her eyes.

"They're being so stupid." She said to Dez.

"Tell me about it. How long do you think they're gonna be like this?" Dez asked, still looking at them sitting awkwardly.

"Not much longer. I'm about to put an end to it." Trish declared, marching over to them. Dez skipped close behind her. Trish sat in front of Ally and Dez sat in front of Austin – at this point, only Trish and Dez were in view of one another.

"Are you guys seriously not considering taking that offer from Mr Peterson?" Trish began. Ally stared at him.

"As long as the deal stands for both of us together, no. And why didn't you tell me that Austin was going to the same meeting?" Ally charged, referring to Trish's role as her and Austin's manager.

"I knew you wouldn't agree to it if I told you. He's offering a lot of money _and_ a record deal for you, you know. You'd be crazy not to take it." Trish replied. Ally grimaced and sat back comfortably.

"Well then call me crazy." She stated. Trish rolled her eyes over to Austin and Dez.

"What about you, Austin?" she prompted. Austin seemed to be waiting for a chance to speak, and immediately turned over to Trish.

"I was ready to agree. It's the biggest amount of money we've ever been offered. But Miss Grudge over here thinks different." He blurted out, trying to hide his secret desire to help Ally. Trish nodded.

"Ally, Austin's right. As both of your managers, I think you should take the deal, even if it means a reconciled partnership for just this one song. If you still hate each other after that, you can go back to being separate." Trish said bluntly. As Trish spoke, Dez came over to Ally. When she finished, he placed his hand on Ally's shoulder and nodded.

"It's for the best." He said with a nod. Ally sighed as Austin remained looking in another direction, and Trish and Dez eagerly waited for Ally to agree. She slowly began to nod.

"Okay, I'll do it." Ally finally agreed. Trish and Dez stood up cheerfully and high fived each other.

"That's great! I'll tell Mr Peterson the good news." Trish said, taking out her phone and calling him. Ally looked down at Austin, who was slowly braking into a smile.

"This doesn't mean we're partners again." Ally said to him. Austin immediately disintegrated his smile and lowered his eyelids.

"Yeah, whatever." He replied. Ally looked at her watch.

"Come to the practice room in an hour, we can start then." She said, as Austin nodded. Ally left for the store and Austin watched her leave as Dez came up behind him.

"I don't know, Dez. She still seems pretty mad at me, I hope we can still pull together a good song." Austin said, turning to Dez.

"Come on, this is you and Ally we're talking about. There's no way you can stay mad at each other forever." Dez said confidently. Austin sighed. He did, with all his heart, want to be partners with Ally again, but he knew she wouldn't let go of her anger so easily.

* * *

Austin walked through the familiar path to Sonic Boom, and couldn't help but feel nostalgic and emotional when he walked through the large glass doors. It had only been roughly two months, but two years of coming to the store everyday had really affected him. He looked at all the instruments and remembered the first day he spoke with Ally, playing a trumpet through another trumpet and using corn dogs as drumsticks. He smiled lightly as he slowly walked through the store, and began to climb the stairs.

The door to the practice room was closed. While Austin would normally open the door wide open, he knocked on it.

"Come in," Ally called from the other side. Austin opened the door to find Ally sitting at the piano, leaning over her songbook and frantically writing out what appeared to be ideas. He looked and walked around the room, thinking about the various memories in the room. He noticed that the couch had been placed near the closet, and that a number of other things had been rearranged as well.

"Shall we get started?" Ally asked, braking Austin's cloud of thought. He looked over at her and nodded, heading to the piano bench and sitting down close to Ally. He noticed that Ally immediately squirmed away from him. They usually sat fairly close to each other.

After about half an hour of fooling around on the piano, they had finally come up with a catchy melody for their song, all they needed to do was find appropriate lyrics.

"Okay, do you have any ideas?" she asked casually. Austin sighed.

"I don't know, what do you think?" he asked back generally. Ally took her songbook from the stand and showed him her mind map.

"I was thinking that the verses could be meaningful and slow, and the chorus could be fast and fun." She said. Austin looked at her map, and couldn't help but smile at her detail drawings and arrows.

"I've missed these drawings." He blurted out, almost thinking aloud. Ally took a grip on her book and looked toward the piano keys. Austin's heart skipped a beat. Yup, it was awkward.

"Um, I like it. What should the song be about?" he asked. Ally scrunched her lips.

"Well, we need to capture the most powerful feeling you've experienced in the past few days. Like we always used to do. What was the last thing you felt?" she asked. Austin had never heard Ally put their song writing method in those words before. He thought.

"Um, failure I guess." He said. Ally looked at the piano keys, realizing what he meant. The failure of his new songs and all.

"Come on, Austin. I thought_ I_ was the one who brought the emotion to the song … you're supposed to make it fun and catchy." Ally reminded him. Austin looked at her.

"You're right …" he drifted off, getting up and thinking hard.

"Well, to be honest, I'm really glad we're writing music together again. It makes me want to write about how much I love music." Austin revealed. Ally turned around to him.

"That's good. We can write a song about how music makes us feel! Come on, let's write this down." Ally finally brightened, getting up from the piano bench and heading over to the sofa where Austin stood.

"How does music make you feel?" she asked, pen and book ready at hand. Austin shifted his vision from side to side, trying to express how it made him feel.

"I don't know, good?" he tried, sitting down on one of the chairs. Ally tilted her head at him blankly. She hadn't expected something fantastic; he had never been good with expressing his feelings.

"Come on, we have to dig deeper into this. When you get up on stage, how does it make you feel to be performing in front of all those people?" Ally prompted him. The process was always like this, Ally would question and question him until they could find the perfect lyrics. Austin thought for a moment, but when he didn't say anything for at least a minute, Ally sat down in front of him.

"Okay, close your eyes," she said. Austin laughed.

"I'm not gonna close my -"

"Close them!" she demanded.

"Oh-kay!" he replied just as quickly, closing his eyes shut. Ally laughed to herself. The scene was all too familiar.

"Imagine, that … you're standing on the side of the stage, waiting to be announced. All you can hear is the crowd cheering and chanting your name, and suddenly you're standing in the middle of the stage, looking out to hundreds of people. The lights shine on you, the beats begin. And all that's left to do now is sing …." She made him visualize, as she watched him slowly smiling before he opened his eyes and saw an eager Ally sitting in front of him.

"How does it make you feel?" she asked intently. Austin rejoiced with a smile and a sigh, looking into Ally's eager eyes and picturing all of his fans.

"Like, the world stops just for me. Like, nothing else matters but the song, and everyone watching. It's …" he drifted off, but Ally almost fell off her seat waiting.

"What?" she prompted.

"Exhilarating." He finished, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Ally smiled back at him. For a moment, she forgot how mad she was at him.

"Good." She said, heading back over to the piano and beginning to sing with the melody. Austin leaned back and bopped his head as she trialled different words.

After about another half an hour, Austin order Chinese food for both of them and they ate as they continued to work on the song.

As they played the notes on the piano, Ally's phone suddenly buzzed. She stopped playing and immediately looked at a new text message. It startled Austin to see her checking messages while they wrote; it wasn't like Ally at all.

"Ally?" Austin pressed quietly. Ally seemed startled and immediately looked at Austin.

"Oh, sorry!" she said, putting her phone on top of the piano and continuing to play.

* * *

_**Any ideas what the song should be called? I want a title that captures the essence of music ... and how it would make Austin and Ally feel. Please leave suggestions in the reviews! :)**_


	9. Chapter 9: Boom Blues & Ice Cream

_**I think some of you are getting a little confused on whether Ally should be or is pregnant. For this story at this point, I don't think she will be. I want to make the relationship between Austin and Ally the focal point of this story. **_

_**But thanks for the feedback!**_

_**Oh, so in this chapter I tried my best to come up with some new lyrics for the 'Sonic Boom Blues' song. Forgive me if its terrible, lol! **_

* * *

The next day, Ally did some merchandising and when she turned she jumped in fright to see Austin sitting very comfortably upon the store counter. She wasn't sure she was on good terms with Austin again, but obviously he thought they were.

"Hey, what do you want to do today?" Austin asked casually, playing one of the guitars. Ally sighed. Yup, he was back to his old self.

"I have work." She replied rather flatly, moving behind the counter.

"Come on, let's go do something." He suggested. Ally looked doubtfully at him.

"Why? We're not song writing until this afternoon." She reminded him.

"But I'm _bored_." He complained, continuing to strum the guitar. Ally shook her head.

"What's Dez doing today?" Ally suggested. Austin frowned.

"He's at another cooking contest." He replied, obviously not interested.

"Well, Austin I have to work so …" Ally drifted off, hoping he would leave. Austin shrugged comfortably.

"Don't worry, you're not bothering me." He said. Ally went to open her mouth but shook her head instead. Austin strummed the guitar, and Ally immediately recognized the tune as 'Sonic Boom Blues', a song he had made up at the beginning of the year, the last time he was bored.

Scared, she left the counter and headed over to a customer looking at a saxophone.

"Ally's off to help another customer … he says he's thinking about a saxophone, so Ally points one out and now he thinks again, and Ally sees him off and he leaves the store, he's got the Sonic Boom Blues …" he sang as Ally conversed with the customer.

"Thanks, you just scared away my first customer today." She thanked sarcastically. Austin tilted his head and put the guitar back, heading back to the counter and leaning his hands across it.

"Come on, let's go to the movie theatre. They're playing a space movie in _5D_." Austin begged, as Ally shook her head. Ally didn't want to spend any more alone time with Austin – she knew doing so would make it easy to fall for him again.

"Austin I …" but she was suddenly confused. "What's 5D?" she asked doubtfully. Austin broke into a typical Austin grin, ready to explain.

"It's when you can not only feel everything in the film, but taste it too!" Austin explained excitedly. Ally looked confused.

"That is the most …" she began, but Austin moved from in front of the counter to behind it, and tugged on her arm.

"Good, so you'll go with me!" he said, pulling her arm. Ally let out a confused moan.

"Austin! I have to work! My dad _won't_ be okay with this." she reminded him forcefully, but Austin turned around to her and immediately looked up to the practice room.

"Hey Mr Dawson, Ally's going to the movies with me, can you look after the store?" he yelled up to the room. Ally frowned and looked up to see her Dad poking his head out of the door.

"Sure thing, have fun." He said rather assuredly. Ally opened her mouth ready to protest but Austin was too quick for her. He pulled her out of the store and they headed for the movie theatre.

* * *

As Austin and Ally came out of the movie theatre, Austin was laughing and Ally gagged as if she was trying to get something out of her mouth.

"Well that was the most horrifying experience of my life." She said matter-of-factly. Austin raised his eyebrows at her.

"Are you kidding? That was the best thing ever!" he exclaimed. Ally shook her head, and when she looked around she saw the ice cream kiosk.

"Ooh, ice cream!" she said, running ahead of him. Austin looked after her and almost smiled as he saw her run toward the ice cream.

As he slowly walked up behind her, Ally eagerly waited for her fruity mint swirl ice cream to be placed on a cone and took it from him, just as the man waited for money. Ally took out some loose change from her pocket, but Austin stopped her.

"It's okay, I got this. Can I have a cookie dough?" he said, taking cash out of his back pocket. Ally stared at him as he did this, wondering why he was. She was even more surprised when he took his own ice cream and simultaneously placed his hand in hers, leading her over to an empty table. Austin eagerly licked at his ice cream, but Ally stared at him, confused. He still hadn't let go of her hand.

"Austin, what are you doing?" she asked genuinely. Austin looked at her, as if he didn't understand what she was talking about. Then, when Ally raised her eyebrows and he felt a tug on his hand, he immediately let go of her hand. Ally seemed embarrassed, but Austin somehow didn't.

"I guess I've just really missed hanging out with you." He said, shrugging his shoulders. Ally looked down. She didn't say anything. While she missed hanging out with him too, it didn't change the fact that he had broken her heart and she should be mad at him.

In fact, Ally had no idea what to say after that so she just remained silent and kept licking her ice cream. Her phone buzzed during their silence, and Austin looked over at her. She read through the message quickly, but didn't seem to respond as she put it down and just kept licking her ice cream.

* * *

"No way, Austin. The Beach Boys are _way_ better than the Beatles." Ally protested, coming back into Sonic Boom, Austin behind her.

"Is that supposed to be a joke? Does _Greatest Band of all Time_ not mean anything to you?" Austin charged, raising her eyebrow. Ally shook her head, still not convinced. Trish and Dez were sitting on the benches the near entrance, and looking up to see Austin and Ally apparently bonding.

"Looks like you guys are spending time together outside of work?" Trish interrogated, flashing a mischievous grin. Austin looked down at Ally, who hadn't even glanced at Austin. She just looked hard at Trish.

"He dragged me out of my shift here and took me to a _5D movie_. It was the worst day ever." She insisted, turning to the counter. Austin looked after her.

"Come on, we both know you had a good time today." He forced on her. Ally looked back at him and raised her eyebrow.

"Look, we're already late for working on the song …" Ally said, looking at the time quickly and walking toward the stairs. Austin immediately followed after her, but when Ally noticed she slowed down a little.

"What are you doing?" Ally asked in a typical Ally awkward tone. Austin shrugged his shoulders.

"Gonna go write the song together …" he gestured to the practice room. Ally leaned her arm on the railing.

"Oh come on, we spent the entire day together. You can go hang out with Dez, seriously its fine." Ally insisted.

"You know you won't be able to write it by yourself." Austin reminded her. Ally knew he was right. Without him, it would only be okay and not incredible.

"Fine." She muttered, heading up the stairs.

Trish looked over at Dez.

"Wow, looks like Austin's really eager to hang out with Ally." Trish commented. Dez pouted.

"I wish he was eager to hang out with me. But then again, he's not _in love_ _with me_, so …" Dez threw his fingers in mid-air. Trish turned to Dez in shock.

"Austin is in love with Ally?" Trish exclaimed. Dez shrugged his shoulders.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked back. Trish looked confusedly at him.

"Did he say something to you?" Trish asked again.

"No, but you can see it in his eyes …" Dez said romantically. Trish shook her head, unable to fathom what he was saying.

* * *

"Okay, I think it's almost done. We just need to warm up before we can try singing it." Ally declared, moving up from the piano, engaged with the lyrics in her book. Austin nodded.

"Okay, I'm ready." He said confidently, nodding his head. Ally looked up at him abruptly. She was referring to vocal exercises to warm them up, but obviously Austin felt he didn't need them. She shook her head.

"Fine, go downstairs so I can do my vocal exercises." She gestured toward the door. Austin raised his eyebrow.

"Why? I already know what they are …" he drifted off because he was trying to fight off a laugh, remembering the day he had seen her doing her warm ups.

"I don't care. I can't do them properly with someone else in the room …" she gestured toward the door again. Austin groaned and headed to the door, Ally behind him. As he stepped out of the room, he turned back and lifted his finger up to make a point, but Ally closed it before he could say anything.

Ally came to the middle of the room and starting doing her exercises. Austin, hearing her on the other side of the door, opened the door a crack and saw her doing not only vocal warm ups but high kicks in the air (which failed horribly) as well. He smirked at her.

Soon she tilted her head from side to side, and took her songbook again. Austin knew this meant she was done, so he quickly closed the door again and stood against the wall with his arms folded.

Ally opened the door and immediately saw him standing there. She opened her mouth, but Austin nodded in her direction.

"Sup?" he nodded. Ally gave a confused look.

"I thought I told you to go downstairs." She reminded him, pointing toward the ground level. Austin shrugged and moved away from the wall.

"So you ready?" he diverted, moving back into the room again.

"Yeah …" she replied instantly, following him in. When Austin came in he moved to the middle of the room and began kicking in the air to replicate what Ally had done. Ally hung her mouth open and smacked him across the shoulder.

"I knew you were watching!" she said, trying not to smile. Austin only laughed and starting popping his cheeks like Ally had done, which only made Ally hit him more. To stop her he grabbed her by her waist and started tackling her, and she ended up over the arm of the couch, still hitting him. But he started tickling her instead to stop her from hitting him as he laughed, which made Ally laugh too. Soon, when their faces were only inches away from each other, Ally suddenly turned very red and looked at him. Austin was still trying to revive himself from laughing, so he hadn't caught on, but Ally just shoved him away gently.

"Come on lets work on the song." She said, moving to the piano. Austin followed after her and flicked his hair away from his face. Ally started hitting the keys on the piano, and Austin bopped his head as he waited for his queue.

As he sang, Ally joined him in the chorus, still looking at the lyrics. But when she did, Austin slowly turned to her, loving the sound of her voice with his. He kept singing, eagerly watching her lose herself as she sang. He just watched Ally as she sang her verse, and when she finished, he just kept staring. He hadn't noticed he'd forgotten his queue to join in again, and noticed that Ally was staring confusedly at him.

"What's the matter, do you want to change something?" she asked casually. Austin exhaled briefly.

"No, it's great. I never realised how great our voices sound together." He said genuinely. Ally's heart sped up.

"Well, you know we make a good team." She replied shakily, trying to lighten the atmosphere around them.

"Yeah, we really do." he agreed. Ally's hands shook as she tried to play the piano again. As she did, Austin thought about how great they were together, but knew it wouldn't last if they still remained 'mad' at each other. At that moment, Ally's phone buzzed and she went to check it, but Austin was too quick for her. She gasped.

"Austin, what are you-?" she trailed off, as Austin got up from the bench and held her phone away from her reaching height.

"Who have you been texting so much anyway? It's really getting in the middle of our time together." Austin said, squirming away from the small girl trying to reach her phone.

"No one!" she said, still trying to grab it. Austin brought it down to his eye level and looked at the message as he held Ally by her neck, preventing her from taking it. While Ally was feeling slightly tortured, she was almost laughing.

"_Austin_!" she protested.

Austin frowned at the message as he read it.

"Fair maiden, your tresses fall on your shoulders like an angel from heaven. Your voice shows no lesser beauty … who knows what will happen to me if I can get close to you just once …?" he read out questionably. There was no ID on the message, just a number. Ally managed to free herself and snatched her phone from Austin.

Austin gawked at her, unable to believe what he had just read.

"Who the heck is sending you such tacky poems?" he charged.

"None of your business!" she choked, putting her phone in her pocket. Austin laughed. She sat back down at the piano and tried to move past the moment by hitting the keys again, but was interrupted by a cheeky laugh. She narrowed her eyes to the ceiling.

"Whoever it was needs a good lesson in poetry writing." He scoffed. Ally glared at him.

"What, and you're any better? Please, you can't even tell me how ice cream tastes." Ally mocked back. Austin scrunched his eyebrows.

"Uh, yeah I can! It's _cold_ … and _creamy _…" he managed to say. Ally pressed her lips together at him before continuing to hit notes on the piano.

* * *

_**So I read through my revisited Sonic Boom Blues and realised how terrible it is. Sorry! But hey, I'm no songwriter! haha **_

_**Leave reviews and suggestions. At this point I want to add more to the Auslly story before moving on to their careers and stuff. Thanks! 3**_


	10. Chapter 10: Dancing with a Superstar

_**So I wanted a scene that included a build up in their relationship, and this was the result. **_

_**Seriously, if you read this, it wouldn't hurt to review! **_

* * *

A few nights later, Ally sat in the practice room doing her homework, when she heard hustle and bustle on the other side of the door. It grew louder and louder, and soon she became worried. She walked up to the door and brought her ear to the frame, trying to hear what was happening. When she was almost certain she knew who it was, she unlocked the door to see none other than Austin Moon, again.

"What are you doing here, Austin?" she asked quite genuinely. Austin seemed to be carrying a fair number of items, which was probably why he had been struggling. He had a laptop, blankets, pillows, chips and chocolate.

"In case you were wondering, I can manage it by myself, thanks." He said sarcastically, moving through the door. Ally took the pillows and snacks and let him in. Austin went straight to the floor and placed the blankets on the floor, placing his laptop on the ground and Ally saw him take out a jar of pickles.

"Come on. Movie night." He pretty much declared rather than asked. Ally gawked at him.

"Austin, it's a school night." She reminded him. Austin shrugged.

"That's okay, I'll crash here tonight." He compromised, but Ally went to protest.

"I don't know if I can … I have all this homework I have to catch up on and …"

"Oh come on! I even brought West Side Story, your _favourite movie_." Austin interrupted, holding up the DVD. Ally gawked at him, about to shake her head. She went over to where he sat and began to drop down.

"Okay, maybe just the beginning." She warned, sitting down on the blanket. Austin had placed the blanket against the couch so it would be more comfortable. As she sat down, he placed the blanket over her, handing her the jar of pickles and proceeding to place the disc in the drive. Ally held the jar and smiled for a moment.

"You're trying to make it up to me, aren't you?" she pressed. Austin didn't sway, he just looked up at her smoothly after his laptop registered the disc.

"Is it wrong to miss spending time with a great partner_ and_ girl?" Austin challenged, leaning back on the couch. Ally raised her eyebrows.

"This much?" she asked, trying to force back a smile. Austin shrugged and Ally opened the jar and began munching on a pickle as the movie started. Deep down, Ally knew she wouldn't be able to resist but watch the entire movie.

The Mambo scene came, and Ally watched in interest as the cast danced like true Broadway stars. Well, most of them were. Ha.

"Man, to dance like that …" Ally commented, watching the actors dance circles around each other. Austin looked at her.

"You wanna dance like that? When you've got …" Austin did her famous move whilst still sitting, and Ally tilted her head at him.

"I mean, I know I probably won't ever be able to … but that looks freaking amazing." Ally pointed as couples danced as if it was only playtime. Austin smirked and looked from Ally to the dancers. He smiled to the side, an idea popping in his head.

"Come on." Austin said, taking Ally's hand and lifting her up.

"What are you doing now?" Ally asked, raising her eyebrow. Austin turned up the volume of the film and rewound back to the beginning of the scene. He took Ally's hand and led her to the empty space, the music now filling the room.

"Austin, if I step on your head it's not my fault!" Ally cried, as Austin twirled her around from side to side. Austin wasn't perfect with the moves of the film, but gave it all he could to bring the Broadway feel to the dance he shared with Ally.

"Your pretty boy hip-hop moves aren't gonna work with this type of music!" Ally reminded him as he spun her in and out from him. He finally started dancing with his arms around her and violently danced around the space, and they both laughed.

"You call this pretty boy hip hop?" he cried, releasing her from his grip and breaking into a jump in the air and squatting down on the floor before gesturing to Ally, who stood there dumbstruck as he pulled her around and around.

"Well, do you?" he asked, pulling her close and still. Ally breathed heavily from the excitement.

"Wow." Was all she could really say. Austin gave his typical grin.

"Did you ever doubt me?" he asked with a smirk. Ally opened her mouth to answer, but closed it and smiled lightly at the corner of her mouth instead. She just released herself from him and proceeded back to the laptop and sat down. Austin followed close behind and sat down close to Ally, his arm and leg touching hers. Ally tried her very hardest to move away from him, but his eagerness to be close with her again was preventing her. It wasn't good.

As the movie progressed, Ally found herself leaning on Austin's shoulder, tired and sleepy. But as the finale drew near, she couldn't help but concentrate on every breath Austin took … his body moving up and down as she rested her head on his shoulder. It was a rhythm she couldn't help but enjoy.

_Hold my hand and we're halfway there …._ _Maria hopelessly sang as she held Tony's dying body in her arms._

Ally could feel the tears starting to well from her eyes, a process she was unfortunately used to every time she watched the film. _As Maria fell to the ground, coughing back her rage to the two gangs_, Ally's tears now streamed down her face, and simultaneously onto Austin's shoulder. Austin turned to her, and now noticing that she was crying, he couldn't help but place his arm around her.

Ally didn't object, she just wiped the tears away from her cheeks and sniffled as Austin drew her closer. She shook her head, still caught in the moment of the scene, as the two gangs helped each other carry Tony's body on the sidewalk.

"It's just a movie, Alls." He reminded her, rubbing her shoulder. Ally turned to him and smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah I know, it just gets me every time." She admitted, leaning back on the sofa as the closing credits appeared.

Austin drew his arm away from Ally and ejected the disc from his laptop. He then opened his iTunes library and scrolled down to play The Killers. They both loved listening to the Killers. He leaned back on the sofa again and gave a small smile to Ally. Ally shook her head.

"Are you seriously going to sleep here tonight?" Ally asked. Austin shrugged.

"It's better here than it is at home." Austin replied. Ally scrunched her eyebrows, concerned.

"What do you mean? Your parents are lovely." Ally tried to remind him. Austin raised his eyebrows once quickly, a look of sarcasm to her comment.

"Not since I've become less popular. They were using me in their commercials and thought that I would bring more sales but nothing happened. When I stopped hitting the charts they started laying out all these fucking lectures all over me about how they knew I would never last, that I was literally a washed up pop-star at 17. They treat me like shit now." Austin said, looking up at the ceiling. They were now lying down completely on the floor, the lights off except for the light coming from Austin's laptop screen. Ally frowned, turning away from him.

"That's stupid. It's not your fault." Ally defended him. Austin glowered but didn't say anything.

"It's okay. I mean I don't really need them anyway. As soon as I turn 18 – well, so long Mike and Mimi." Austin choked with an evil laugh. Ally looked over at him.

"You don't want to prove them wrong?" Ally asked.

"I don't have to prove anything to anybody." Austin replied quickly.

"But don't you want to be able to show them up? Show them you're gonna be a superstar?" Ally asked back genuinely. Austin turned to her with a look of hope in his eye.

"You still believe in me?" he pressed. Ally felt a lump rise in her throat. She looked down before answering.

"I never stopped believing in your talent – or your potential …" she drifted off, unsure of how to explain that she didn't really believe in him for herself anymore. Austin broke into a smile.

"I believe in you, Ally. One day you're gonna be the biggest superstar in the music biz." He told her wholesomely.

"Bigger than you?" she smirked. Austin laughed.

"Ha. If I don't have you, I'm pretty much a basket case. You having you, means that you're becoming the big superstar." He explained with a small smile.

Ally was starting to think that this whole 'be nice and sweet to Ally' thing was a tactic in getting her to be his partner again. But she knew questioning his gestures would probably offend him, if her theory wasn't correct. So, she tried something else.

"Austin, seriously … why are you doing all of this?" Ally pestered. Austin disintegrated his smile and looked down for a moment before answering.

"You know why." He mumbled. Ally widened her eyes. She did?

"I do?" she asked out loud. Austin looked at her, biting his lower lip.

"Ally … I'm always gonna need you. Without you, I can't do anything right. It pretty much sucks when you're not around. And not just writing music … it's everything." He said rather flatly than softly. Ally didn't know whether to feel flattered, or take it as a hard core fact. A literal fact of life was the way in which Austin had answered her question. In a way, she was right.

"Austin, I …" she began, but then, unsure of what to say, she just broke off her much inhaled breath and broke into a half smile.

"Thanks." She finished. Austin smiled, but Ally closed her eyes. She wasn't too sleepy, but just wanted to close her eyes in this darkness. The playlist had finished, and Austin had shut down his laptop. When the room felt silent, Ally hummed. Austin looked at her with horror.

"You're not possessed are you?" Austin asked, holding in one breath. Ally laughed.

"No. I just have our new song stuck in my head." Ally explained. Austin turned to a sigh of relief.

"_Repeat _is really growing on me. I sang it in this shower this morning. It's pretty darn good." Austin said. Ally smiled.

"Did you ever doubt me?" she asked. Austin smiled at the corner of his mouth.

"No. Not even a little." He replied whole-heartedly. Ally opened her eyes and looked hard into his eyes. She couldn't really see him in this darkness, but saw his lips beginning to move.

"_Cause now I'm, hitting repeat again and again, _

_won't this moment last forever, can't I, just wonder _

_why time can't stand still_

_as these lights keep on shinin' _

_instead I'm hitting repeat_

_for me and for you …" _

He sang softly, making Ally nod off into sleep. Soon Austin fell asleep too.

* * *

The sun shone through the window, and Austin woke up to find Ally's head lying on his chest, and he lightly smiled. It must have only been between 6 or 7 am, so he just closed his eyes again, placing his arm gently around her.

At around 7.30, Ally woke suddenly and saw that her pillow had transformed to a hard upper chest covered with a blue button up shirt, and an arm around her body. This wasn't good. She got up quickly and sat up with her back aching and crossed her legs.

Austin got up too and stretched.

"Morning." He said rather calmly. Ally pressed her lips together, remembering the last time he had said good morning to her.

"Yeah, we have to get ready for school." Ally reminded him, getting up and folding her blanket.

"Yeah, yeah … whatever." He said, leaning back. Ally stood up and walked toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Austin asked, rubbing his eyes. Ally turned quickly to him.

"Just down to see my dad." She replied, walking down quickly, not waiting for a response from Austin.

When Ally reached the lower ground, she saw her dad preparing for their daily opening. She went into the back room and took out some clothes she'd brought from home. When she approached the counter, she saw her dad looking a little upset.

"You didn't come home last night, and you didn't contact either. I was starting to get worried when I realised you told me you'd stay back and study." Mr Dawson said. Ally closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in, disappointed in herself.

"I'm so sorry, dad. Austin came around and he wanted to crash here for the night. We ended up watching a movie and I guess we just fell asleep." Ally explained. Her dad didn't seem impressed.

"You do realise it was a school night." He reminded her. Ally frowned and nodded.

"Yeah, he just insisted." Ally said. Mr Dawson just shook his head, silent for a moment.

"Ally, you need to be careful around him. I know he's a very good friend of yours, but I don't want to see you hurt again." He explained. Ally breathed in carefully. While she had spared her dad the details, he obviously knew that he had hurt her due to the lack of contact they had had for almost three months.

Ally sighed.

"I know … he's just making it really hard." She confessed.

* * *

_**What do you think Ally's favourite movie would be? I chose West Side Story cause I thought she would like musicals, but then again I'm a bit of musical geek so I think I just threw my likes on her character - but also to get the dance scene in there!**_

_**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. PLEASEEE :) **_


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